TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The Democrat Party's Finance Director Ichsan Modjo said that the most effective method to overcome the ballooning fuel subsidies is to continue plans to raise the fuel prices. "We'd better raise the prices so as to safeguard the State Budget (APBN) and to reduce fuel shortages," he said Wednesday, June 13, 2012. He explained that in the wake of the fuel-saving measures there are too many points that need to be watched, since the disparities between the prices of subsidized fuel and the non-subsidized one are still large. As a result, instances of mixing [the fuel] and irregularities are still found. The effort at fuel price hikes also means reduced incentives for people seeking to smuggle fuel [out]. Nevertheless, the attempt to raise fuel prices was hampered by this year's State Budget Law. "We'll just put it into next year's draft budget, since this year there is a castrated regulation," he said. He said in other regions outside Java, like Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua the price of subsized fuel was higher than Rp4,500 per liter. He hoped that future energy policy would no longer be politicized. "We're going to keep informing the matter and we would guard it." GUSTIDHA BUDIARTIE